maa4 faan4麻煩麻烦
Jyutpingmaa4 faan4
Yalemàh fàahn
Definition
Troublesome, bothersome, or annoying; to cause trouble or inconvenience.
- troublesome; bothersome; annoying; thorny
- to trouble; to bother; to inconvenience someone
colloquialdescriptionsdaily actions
How it's used
Beyond describing a difficult situation, this word is frequently used as a polite way to request assistance, functioning similarly to 'excuse me' or 'could you please'. When used this way, it softens the imposition of a request by acknowledging that the task might be an inconvenience to the listener. It is also common to hear it used as a noun to describe a person who is constantly creating issues for others.
Examples
This matter is really troublesome, please handle it for me.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using it as a direct translation for 'annoying' when describing a person's personality, as it focuses more on the inconvenience caused rather than the irritation felt. For describing a person who is truly irritating or obnoxious, 乞人憎 is a more natural choice.
Grammar color guide
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Verb
Adjective
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Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
